The Magnus effect: The science that allows soccer players to 鈥榖end it like Beckham鈥�
鈥楳iracle鈥� goals scored from seemingly impossible angles are made possible by physics.
With the score tied late in a men鈥檚 soccer match, midfielder Milos Bisenic 鈥�27 lines up a free kick near the top left corner of the penalty area, about 30 yards from the goal. Two defenders are blocking a straight shot and the goalkeeper is well-positioned. Bisenic signals he鈥檚 ready to take the kick.
One moment, the ball is sailing out of bounds, the next, it鈥檚 curling into the top right corner of the goal.
On the match鈥檚 livestream, the announcer exclaims, 鈥淥h, he scored it! It鈥檚 magic!鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 magic. It was physics.
鈥楢mazing free kick!鈥�
October 12, 2024. It鈥檚 all square in the 78th minute of a men鈥檚 soccer match at Fauver Stadium between 蘑菇传媒 and Carnegie Mellon. A foul by the Tartans gives the Yellowjackets a direct free kick in a dangerous area. Enter Milos Bisenic 鈥�27.
What is the Magnus effect?
A bending soccer kick. A slicing golf shot. A tennis ball that sinks as it crosses the net. They鈥檙e all the result of the Magnus effect, rooted in Bernoulli鈥檚 principle.
鈥淲henever the motion of air over an object is slow, the pressure is high,鈥� explains , a professor in 蘑菇传媒鈥檚 . 鈥淲hen the motion of air around an object is fast, the pressure is low. The difference in pressure creates a force that will make the ball swerve.鈥�
That force is the Magnus effect, and spinning is essential to creating it, Lambropoulos emphasizes. The faster a ball spins, the greater the pressure differential and the more it will bend. If a ball is spinning on its vertical axis, it will curve to the left or right. If the spin occurs on the horizontal axis, the ball will sink or rise.
鈥淭his shot is so rare that when it happens, we have to sit back and admire how a human foot can execute the miracle we have just seen.鈥�
The phenomenon is named after the 19th-century German physicist Heinrich Gustav Magnus, the first person to formally study and explain the effect; however, he didn鈥檛 discover it. Lambropoulos points out that the effect was observed centuries before Magnus, most notably by English polymath Isaac Newton, who noticed that spinning tennis balls travel along a curved path.
In soccer, goals scored using the Magnus effect are special. Lambropoulos says those who catch one while watching the 2026 World Cup should consider themselves lucky. 鈥淭his shot is so rare that when it happens, we have to sit back and admire how a human foot can execute the miracle we have just seen.鈥�
Curl it like Carlos
Given how the Magnus effect got its name, it鈥檚 fitting that the player most associated with the Magnus effect wasn鈥檛 necessarily its first or even greatest master.
Former English soccer star David Beckham is widely considered one of the greatest dead-ball specialists of all time. He likely cemented that reputation in 2001 with a goal scored on to secure England鈥檚 spot in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Yet, there are many footballers before, during, and after Beckham鈥檚 career who are equally, if not more, adept at the skill. The list of elites includes , , , and the undisputed king, , who netted 77 free kicks.
The reason Beckham became synonymous with bending kicks is largely the 2002 soccer-based dramedy Bend It Like Beckham. He鈥檚 wholly worthy of the association, but it鈥檚 worth considering that a different free-kick specialist might have been immortalized in this way had a different screenwriter produced a similar script at a different time.
Lambropoulos, who has been involved with soccer for more than 55 years as a player, coach, and referee at many levels, confirms that one thing about bending a kick can be said with certainty: It鈥檚 hard.聽鈥淎lthough we understand the physics of how this actually happens,鈥� he says, 鈥渆xecuting it to perfection requires a huge amount of practice over weeks, months, and years.鈥�
How to curve a soccer ball, step by step
Want to try bending a kick? Here鈥檚 how to make a ball curve to the right or left (depending on your kicking foot):
- Target. Determine where you want the ball to end up.
- Get set. Line up so the ball is at a roughly 45-degree angle from your kicking foot.
- Approach.
- Set your non-kicking foot beside the ball, pointing wide of the target.
- Lean in the opposite direction you鈥檙e kicking (to hit lower on the ball and give the kick height.
- Strike.
- Aim just below the center of the ball
- With a swinging motion, hit it with the inside of your foot around the knuckle of your big toe.
- Point your toes up to maximize side spin.
Bisenic offers a fifth step: Don鈥檛 overthink it. When taking a free kick, his mental checklist amounts to checking the goalkeeper鈥檚 position, picking his target, and taking two deep breaths. 鈥淭hinking about the details can be a problem in those situations,鈥� he says, 鈥渟o I just try to make myself feel like I’m in practice.鈥�
Magnus to Mbapp茅鈥� Mbapp茅 scores!
The Magnus effect has assisted several goals in the current World Cup. USA鈥檚 Gio Reyna , known as a 鈥渢rivela,鈥� to score against Paraguay in the group stage, and Kylian Mbapp茅 to help send France to the Round of 16.
Being able to curl a kick is one thing; doing it on demand is something else. Johnny Makula 鈥�28, a forward on the 蘑菇传媒 soccer team, has been honing the skill for years and still finds it difficult to replicate the shot.
鈥淚n my mind, I know exactly what I want to do,鈥� Makula says. 鈥淏ut even being slightly off with foot placement or where I strike the ball can make the biggest difference in the ball’s trajectory. A tiny mistake leading up to the point of contact and where that contact takes place can turn聽the perfect curl into a straight shot or send it wide.鈥�
Makula says professionals can make it look effortless. 鈥淚 know people appreciate that these are great goals,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut I feel that unless you鈥檝e spent time trying to hit that kind of shot yourself, it鈥檚 hard to fully appreciate how difficult it really is.鈥�
C鈥檈st le football
Certainly, no one appreciates鈥攁nd despises鈥攁 bending or dipping kick like a goalkeeper. After many 鈥渕agic鈥� goals, the keeper can be seen looking resigned and forlorn because it was only seconds earlier that they were in textbook position, with defenders in front of them, between the ball and the goal.
That鈥檚 tough to swallow.
蘑菇传媒 goalkeeper Salvador Casta帽eda 鈥�28 focuses on what he can control: being in the right position, staying ready, and minimizing mistakes, noting that 鈥渃onsistency is what makes a goalkeeper great.鈥�
Elite goalkeepers, like Spain鈥檚 Iker Casillas or Germany鈥檚 Manuel Neuer, master the fundamentals and have some innate, superhuman talent that enables them to make jaw-dropping saves.
Casta帽eda takes solace in knowing a perfectly placed, bending kick is almost unstoppable for any goalkeeper. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 a great goal, I know there鈥檚 nothing else I could have done.鈥�
